Traveling Sneakers

We leave Saturday for vacation.  Dave, Maddie, Mira and Me.  All piled into the RV with the SUV in tow.

I'm excited to be going home - back to my roots with my people, my relatives, my blood.  All I am, good or bad began in this place we are traveling to.  All that I hope to be was born there.  I am grateful that I can step back in time to a place where I can be grounded in my roots.  I don't return as penance, or because I want to be different from who I have evolved to be.  Going back home to me is a way to retrace the steps I've taken along this journey we call life.  It is good to know where you came from, not with praise nor blame, just a place of knowing what is that allowed me to create what I am and design who I will yet be.

Having Dave with me will be especially sweet   He hasn't been home in four years.  I've made this trip alone those years.  His family isn't there anymore; his daughter is away in a home of her own and his sister is on the opposite coast from us.  He's bound to this place only by his own beginnings and that it is the peaceful resting place of his parents.  For him, my family is what remains to be experienced in this place.

The lake we are camping at has miles and miles of trails to run and roads to cycle.  For me, being in the RV with the dogs makes it easy to maintain a schedule of running and cycling.  The only exercise the girls get when we are on the road is when they are with us, so you just get out and go without any question, there are no other options.  Many people say they don't want to be "chained" down to a routine like that and they don't have a dog for that reason.  This extra demand on my time is one of the reasons I have dogs.  I find the structure and pace somehow frees me.  Nothing cures an ailment like a pair of sneakers and a dog trotting along next to me.  All my cares are lifted as my heart rate climbs and tapers and climbs again and again until I've moved beyond the stress and fatigue and  into a state of pure relaxation. 

Pavement, sneakers and a dog by my side; life is fabulous! I'm filled with the anticipation of new trails to explore and roads to follow next week. 

Honeysuckle, Wheezing, Running and Memories

My grandparents had a gorgeous honeysuckle vine that I always stuck my whole head into when it was in bloom just so I could inhale all of it.  The billion bees buzzing from blossom to blossom never bothered me because I had watched my grandfather "catch" them gently in his hand and then watched them drift away when he opened it while we weeded their enormous garden many times.  So why, several decades later, do I know without a doubt that my wheezing is prefaced to the sight of a gorgeous honeysuckle vine when I'm out for a run?  Alas, no matter how much I wheeze I still attempt to catch as much of the sweet scent I possibly can and drift back to those young days and the memories of the love of my grandparents.

For some reason, I have to settle into the first mile every time the weather changes for a period.  It's like I have to build my stamina up to a new condition each time we have a sudden weather change.  It used to be very frustrating, but I've learned to take it in stride now.  I wish I could say the same for my dogs who are always surprised by my "inability to deal".  I took Maddie out this evening first.  Poor dog, she caught the brunt of my mumbling "ease up", "walk", "easy now", "okay, that will do, slow down"...  Of all the dogs I've had there is only one who disliked walking more than Maddie, and that was her dam.  She was a little frustrated with me and got a few fly by grass snacks to ease the tension.  I think I saw one of her paws form a distasteful symbol usining only one digit at one point. 

Mira was the benefactor of my "2nd mile rejuvenation" and the two miles I had her out were pretty smooth with her stopping more than I.  She decided to take her time for whatever reason, perhaps the air has blown all new scents to the mailbox posts, or perhaps Maddie gave her some signal when we got home and she decided she should take it easy on the old lady this evening.  Whatever the reason, she was happy to work, but equally happy to explore the scents of the neighborhood.  So much so, that I discovered tonight in the amount of time it takes her efficiently sniff a mailbox post, I can drop up to 10 BPM on my heart monitor.  It became a game for me tonight to see how quickly I could recover when I stopped.

I plan to enjoy the rest of the honeysuckle season, happily wheezing along! Those childhood memories of scampering up the stairs until I could reach the belly of the vine with my face fully in the middle of the blossoms are some of the best memories of my life.

Nor'easter Walk

Dave and I rode the bikes 7 miles yesterday through the rolling hills in our neighborhood.  It was a great cardio workout and I kept my gears set so I was working relatively hard on the climbs.  It wasn't a long ride, but it was definitely productive.

When the alarm went off at 6:30 this morning signaling time to head down to the river to run with the dogs, my glutes were in no mood to be bothered.  Somehow in the course of the evening I negelcted to stretch, and the initial movement of the morning was all I needed to know this was going to be a day to take it a little easier than orignally planned.  All Dave had to say to seal my decision was "It's really windy this morning..." as he climbed back into bed and I was wrapped back around a couple of dogs for another hour and a half of sleep.  I hate wind, okay that is harsh; but I seriously don't like to have wind in my face.

There is a spring nor'easter headed in and the winds seem to be practicing in our neighborhood for their big debut early this week on up north.  It's not the season for pine needles or pine cones, but the maple leaves have carpeted our yard in an odd Renaissance era type pattern.

Although I was sore this morning, and it was nice to sleep in; I couldn't let the cool evening fade without taking the dogs out.  It's just too much to their liking with the cool air and yes, they (unlike me), enjoy the wind and all the scents that blow by them.  Their heads were up and nostrils flaring tonight.  It must have been sensory heaven for them to have the air filled with freshness and the wind raising the nap of their fur as we made our way along.

Maddie especially was cranked up more than a few degrees with all the blowing tonight.  She's  smiling now, quite pleased with herself for putting the sun to bed over Horestown while outrunning the dried magnolia leaves that rushed behind us on the pavement.  I think I'll give her an extra long massage tonight after we all stretch, she deserves it. 

As grumpy as I can be over a windy day, I'm very grateful that we in the Southeast only have the wind to contend with until the spring storm finishes it's fury.  We hope all of you along the path of the nor'easter stay warm and safe as it lands and passes through.

Moving Boundaries

Tonight we left the house with 74 degree temps and if any, a low level of humidity to embark on the first run of the week.

Maddie went the first mile and a half without issue.  She and Dave stopped after this first loop and I went on with Mira for another mile and a quarter.  It's the first night I've taken Mira out with the temperature above 70 degrees for more than a mile and a half.  We jumped a boundary tonight by a stride I wouldn't normally take, but the climate was very mild.  She did great, tongue out and breathing reasonably hard, but no signs of laboring through the run.

We're home, they've been stretched, the human half of the team has eaten dinner and the girls are lazily hanging out on the cool tile floor chilling out. Mira has normal respiration and has already begun to doze off and on.  Maddie is hanging out on her pillow happily chilling.

I feel good about being able to take Mira out for this distance in temperatures that I wouldn't have considered acceptable for a Siberian only two years ago.  My philosophy then was that we didn't run in temps above 70 degrees and we only went for the mile.  It worked then.  Maybe it only worked because I was a heavy smoker at the time, or because the dogs I had at the time got enough exercise chasing each other and training/competing in agility that they didn't require more.  I don't know why that was reasonable to me then, but it truly made sense to me at that time and it worked for our lifestyle with five dogs and a full schedule of training and competition to keep them otherwise conditioned.

I don't know how far I can go with Mira and how high we can take the temps.  But her conditioning continues to improve and she continues to blow my mind with what she's able to do.  I'm hoping to get to 3 miles with the "spring" weather before I have to back down with Mira for summer.  Just hanging onto every run I can for as long as possible this season with her.  She'll be 8 years old by the time we get into great cool running conditions this fall, time just flies!!!!!!!!!!

And then there's Madison, wow, what a dog!  12 years old and still pulling us around the neighborhood.  I think she taught me as much about tenacity through my observation of her over the years than any of my own personal experiences could have begun to teach me (even being carjacked).

If you follow my blog and you run with your dog, or you want to start running with your dog, PLEASE understand that I have worked my dogs to the level of condition they are gradually over years.  Don't take a young dog under 18 months out for a long run, they are not structurally developed and you could do some really long term, or irreversible damage.  And whatever you do, don't take a dog that has sat on a sofa and become overweight out for a 2 mile run, no matter how inviting the climate may be.  They are your partner, but they are unable to "partner" with you in the decision making process.  You are fully in charge of making all decisions and setting boundaries.  You alone must make the decisions that keep them safe and healthy.

Happy Trails and Wagging Tails :)

Inspiration and Motivation

All runners run into motivation issues at one point or another and the "issue" differs for each person.  For one it may be getting out of a warm bed and hitting the road at 5 am.  Others find 90 degree temps with 49% humidity unbearable.  The problems are as varied as the sneakers we lace onto our feet.

My motivation is pretty deep and self involved - I'm pretty good at making this about me.  In many areas of my life folks would call that arrogance, self absorption, selfish...but it is a gift when it comes to running and triathlon training.  If I couldn't make this sport about me, I'm not sure anything would be worth what I'm putting into it.

Inspiration is another thing all together.  I'm moved by the runners who have survived cancer, limb loss, push their child in a wheelchair ahead of them and often find myself swallowed in tears when I read their stories or see their biographies.  But honestly, they don't inspire me to start - I may dig deeper when I'm exhausted because of one of their stories, but they are not the ones who get me out the door.  My inspiration is my dogs.  The dogs that I live with and the ones who have gone ahead of them and wait for the rest of us on the other side of the bridge.

Running began as a means to condition them.  When I began to run (jog/walk/gasp/walk) I was still smoking.  I'd take two dogs out for a mil and then have to sit for about 20 minutes and have a couple of cigarettes before heading out with the next two.  It was a labor of love combined with ignorance.

I sat down tonight to write about running and what it means to me.  As I laid my hands on the keyboard I couldn't help but notice an empty nagging feeling inside.  In frustration I wheeled around in my chair and glanced at all the gorgeous mementos of the years with my dogs surrounding me in my office.  For the first time, I noticed there was nothing in this office of Mira.  Maddie, Magic, Nakeeta, Kody, Max and BoBo are everywhere.  I am surrounded by their pictures and awards hanging on the walls and sitting on shelves.  Nowhere in this office was there a single shot of the one who makes me smile without even seeing her face.  I spent a few minutes searching for a couple of empty frames and I now have a shot of Mira at the beach and a shot of her RWB from Perry, GA years ago on either side of my PC.  The nagging sensation is gone.

Inspiration to find my motivation; that's my dog, my Mira.  She and Maddie inspire me to let myself go, to ignore all that I think I should be and embrace all that I really am.  They inspire me to dig deep within my soul to become all that I can be.  Find your inspiration, it doesn't have to be a hero, just give yourself permission to follow your inspiration.